Timeline: Allegations against Harlan doctor spanned more than 30 years

Lori Minor says she was sexually abused as a teen by Wing-Tai Fung, who practiced medicine in Harlan for 37 years and is now on the Iowa sex offender registry after pleading guilty in 2015 to sexual abuse charges involving a 10-year-old patient.
Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register

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Lori Minor holds a cross at her home in Kalona on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. She says she was sexually abused as a teen in Harlan by Dr. Wing-Tai Fung, who is now on the Iowa sex offender registry after pleading guilty in 2015 to sexual abuse charges involving a 10-year-old patient.(Photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register)Buy Photo

1979: 15-year-old Lori Minor goes to see Fung, her regular family doctor, for a Pap test with her mother after the mother learns her exposure to a pregnancy drug put Lori at risk for uterine cancer. What happens during the doctor visit will later be the basis for a lawsuit against Fung.

1980: Wenday Cooper, age 12 or 13, sees Fung for a physical. Years later, she tells authorities that the doctor fondled her breasts during an exam.

1983: A young woman runs out of the office barely dressed and in a cloth examining gown. She tells her mother, in the waiting room, that Fung molested her during an exam. The family files a police report, and the girl takes and passes a lie detector test. The case goes to a grand jury, but Fung’s staff testifies on his behalf, and the grand jury declines to issue an indictment.

The Harlan Police Department interviews four other girls who say they were sexually assaulted by Fung during purported examinations. All say no nurse was in the room when the doctor examined them. At least one nurse; a medical partner of Fung’s; and a receptionist were aware of complaints, but the nurse discredited the accusers, and there were no changes in policy to ensure a nurse was always present.

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Lori Minor stands for a portrait at her home in Kalona on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. She says she was sexually abused as a teen by former Harlan doctor Wing-Tai Fung, who is now now on the Iowa sex offender registry after pleading guilty in 2015 to sexual abuse charges involving a 10-year-old patient.
Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register

Lori Minor stands for a portrait at her home in Kalona on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. She says she was sexually abused as a teen in Harlan, Iowa by longtime family doctor Wing-Tai Fung.
Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register

Lori Minor stands for a portrait at her home in Kalona on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. She says she was sexually abused as a teen by former Harlan doctor Wing-Tai Fung, who is now now on the Iowa sex offender registry after pleading guilty in 2015 to sexual abuse charges involving a 10-year-old patient.
Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register

Lori Minor holds a cross at her home in Kalona on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. She says she was sexually abused as a teen in Harlan by Dr. Wing-Tai Fung, who is now on the Iowa sex offender registry after pleading guilty in 2015 to sexual abuse charges involving a 10-year-old patient.
Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register

Lori Minor stands for a portrait at her home in Kalona on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. She says she was sexually abused as a teen by former Harlan doctor Wing-Tai Fung, who is now now on the Iowa sex offender registry after pleading guilty in 2015 to sexual abuse charges involving a 10-year-old patient.
Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register

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1990: On July 17, the Iowa Department of Human Services receives a complaint fromthe parent of a girl at the Harlan Girls Group Home saying her daughter (age not specified) was fondled by Fung during an examination five days earlier. The DHS notified the Shelby County Sheriff's office, and officials from both agencies interview the girl. She says she complained to officials at the home after an incident with Fung three months earlier, but they had sent her back to him for back pain. After learning about this girl's visit with police, another girl, ,age 13, comes forward with her own complaint and leads authorities to two other girls, ages 16 and 14, who told of similar experiences with Fung. A fifth no longer lived at the home but was supposed to have been interviewed by the DHS official. That man, Nick Flaten, has since retired and declined to speak to me when contacted.

The deputy sheriff who wrote the report wrote that he was forwarding it to the county attorney's office.

1999: Fung allegedly assaults a 10-year-old girl, the case that will result in the criminal charges and a 2013 warrant for his arrest.

Dec. 23, 2008: Myrtue Medical Center board votes behind closed doors to deny Fung’s application for reappointment to its medical staff. The action means he also could no longer be employed by Shelby County Medical Corp., a nonprofit that employs the clinic's physicians. He moves to Canada to practice. Later, the current CEO says the action nothing to do with allegations of a sexual nature and that no claims had been received.

2013-14: Shelby County Sheriff's Department interviews seven women who claim they were abused by Fung.

Nov. 5, 2013: Arrest warrant is issued in Shelby County for Fung, who is living in Canada.

April 28, 2014: Fung is arrested on the 2013 warrant at a Chicago airport on his way to Harlan from Toronto.

May 2014: Lori Minor reads of his arrest, remembers her own experience and contacts the Shelby County sheriff. The statute of limitations for a criminal charge has passed, so she files a civil lawsuit.

March 27, 2015: Fung pleads guilty to two charges involving the 10-year-old in 1999 and is sentenced to probation and placed on Iowa's sex offender registry.

July 2015: Fung surrenders his medical license as stipulated in the plea agreement. In a press release, the Iowa Board of Medicine notes his conviction of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse and indecent contact with a minor, which followed his written plea of guilt in the 10-year-old's case. "The board also alleges that he engaged in "inappropriate sexual contact with six other female patients, most of whom were minors at the time of the alleged misconduct, between 1979 and 2000. Dr. Fung files an answer denying those allegations. The agreement says he was ordered to pay a $10,000 civil fine, register as a sex offender and be on probation for two years.

Nov. 29, 2016: The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Canada, revokes his medical privileges and fines him $5,000 because of his Iowa guilty plea.

Oct. 2, 2017: Minor settles her case the day before a trial is scheduled to begin, after a judge rules there could be no expert witness testimony from others who allege Fung abused them sexually. The terms of the agreement prevent her from disclosing the sum.